Holder for duplicate contract bridge hands



H. 'SIMMONDS, JR 1,981,154

HOLDER FOR DUPLICATE CONTRACT BRIDGE-HANDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 20,1934.

Filed Jan. 23, 1933 BY I MW ATTORNEYS.

I N V EN TOR.

Nov. 20, 1934. H. SIMMONDS. JR

HOLDER FOR DUPLICATE JONTRACT BRIDGE HANDS Filed Jan. 25, 1933 2Sheets-Sheet 2 T IMHI INVENTOR.

BY 1 W W ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 20, 1934 HOLDER FOR DUPLICATE CONTRACT BRIDGE HANDS HermanSimmonds, Jr., NewYork, N. Y.,,assignor of one-half, to Dick R. McLain,New York,

Application January 23,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a holder or card conproviding a holder orcontainer of the type mentainer for use when playingduplicate contractbridge and one object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which will not only serve as a container for the dealt'handsof cards to be used in the playing of duplicate contract bridge but alsoa holder for a deck of cards when the same are not in use.

As is doubtless well known, the four players in the game of duplicatecontract bridge are presented with dealt hands when they approach thetable for play and this is true as the players progress from table totable. Usually, these cards dealt intofour hands are presented'to theplayers in holders, the hands being designated as north, south, east andWest and indication made which hand is represented as the dealer, butthe holders now in use are large and cumbersome and are not easilytransported from place to place-nor may a quantity of such holders bestored in a compact place or compartment.

It is another object of my invention, therefore, to provide a cardholder which is capable of readily receiving four hands of cards,preserving them as dealt and a-holder so constructed-that it may befolded into small compact form.

Still another object of the invention resides in the construction of acard holder of the type mentioned which is so designed that it may befolded into such compact form that it will-be substantially the samesize, when folded, as the ordinary deck of cards, whereby a number ofdecks of cards held in such holders may be transported from place toplace in a reasonably small package or container.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a holder ofthetype mentioned wherein the supposed dealers hand will be'readilyindicated and in addition thereto, the vulnerability of the varioushands indicated by distinctive colors appearing on specific portions ofthe holders. By this arrangement, players taking their places at a tablewhen progressing from one table to another may readily observe whichhands are vulnerable and thereby exercise the necessary caution whenbidding. Whereas at the present time, some holders for duplicatecontract bridge hands are marked to indicate hands which may bevulnerable, these markings are usually in printed form so that theplayers may overlook those hands which are vulnerable. By providing acontainer wherein portions thereof hold hands which are supposed to bevulnerable and distinctively colored, the players will be constantlywarned and players may proceed with the game accordingly.

1933, Serial No. 653,202

A further object of the invention resides in tioned, which is simple inconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture and one which will be veryefiective in use.

A container constructed in accordance with this invention is illustratedin the accompanying drawings, wherein: I

*Figure 1 is a top plan view showing the -container in position for useand cards .in place thereon; I

Figure 2 is a sectional view takenalong the line 2-2 of Figure '1;

Figure 3 is an end view showing the container and cards folded;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the folded container; and

Figure 5 is 'a diagrammaticview of a set of containers used for playingfour successive hands in a'game of duplicate contract bridge.

The improved card container illustrated in detailin'Figures 1 through 4is one of a set of four containers shown in Figure 5 and in this figuredesignated respectively by the letters A, B, C and D. These containersare to be placed upon tables at which players successively play during agame and as many sets will be used as are necessary have their centralportions marked respectively with numerals 1, 2, 3 and 4 therebydesignating tables upon which the containers are to be placed andinaddition each container -has its center plate marked with the wordDeal located adjacent the north, east, south and westpositionsrespectively and indicating which player is to deal when a new set ofplayers take their positions at the table. The players move from onetable to another after each hand has been played and although theyoccupy the same positions at the tables the deal changes with each handand since the containers are marked with the word Deal there will be nodanger of the wrong person deal- It is also important to designate whichhands, if any, are vulnerable and this should be prominently called tothe attention of the players. In I order to do so the plates or sectionsare distinctively colored. These colors in the present illustration aresilver and gold, the gold designating vulnerable, but it is to beunderstood that any colors which can be easily distinguished may beused. Gold or red are preferably used to designate the vulnerable handsas these colors mean caution or danger.

Referring to Figure 5, it will be seen that the players first occupyseats at a table upon which the container A is placed. All of thecard'receiving sections are silver and, therefore, no hands arevulnerable. North deals and the hand is then played in the usual manner.When the hand is finished, the cards are replaced upon the sections ofthe container from which they were removed and the players move to thenext table where they occupy the same positions and east deals the cardsleft there by the previous players.

At this table, the north and south sections of the container are coloredgold and the east and west sections silver. This indicates that northand south are vulnerable and they must be careful how they bid and playtheir hands. At table three, south deals and north and south sections ofthe container are silver Whereas east and west are gold to indicate thateast and west are Vulnerable instead of north and south. Upon reachingtable four, it will be found that all sections of the container arecolored gold, thereby indicating that all players are vulnerable andeach must be very careful when playing this hand. At the next table,another series is started. It will thus be seen that this improvedcontainer will indicate who deals at each table and which hands arevulnerable.

As previously explained, the containers are to serve as holders fordealt hands during play and also as a container for a deck of cards whennot in use and is so constructed that the container may be folded into acompactmass together with the cards and placed upon a shelf or into acase together with a number of other decks and easily stored away ortransported from one place to another. Therefore, each container isconstructed as shown in Figures 1 through 4 and referring to thesefigures, it will be seen that the center section or plate 1 is connectedwith the card receiving sections by hinges 10, 11,12 and 13. Thesehinges are of different lengths and have their end portions pivoted tothe plates whereby the card carrying sections or plates may be foldedinwardly with cards carried thereby from the extended position shown inFigure 1 to the folded position shown in Figure 3. When so folded, thesection 2 is first swunginwardly into position above the center section1 and the section 3 then swung into position upon section 2.

' Section '7 is then swung into place upon section 3 after which section6 is swung into place upon section '7. Each section carries 13 cards andthe hinges are of such length that a compact stack or deck of cards willbe formed with the plates or sections extending between the hands andalso in covering relation to upper and lower faces of the deck. Thiswill protect the deck as well as keeping the dealt hands separated andsince the sections or plates are formed of strong but thin material suchas sheet metal, celluloid, light Weight wood, bakelite or othermaterial, the deck will not be materially increased in bulk and can beeasily carried in a pocket or a large number placed upon a shelf or intoa case. Clips 14 formed fromstrips of spring metal are carried by thecard holding sections and when the cards areslipped into place beneaththe clips, they will be gripped and prevented from slipping out ofplace. Notches 15 formed in edges of the plates permit the hinges toextend flush with the edges of the plates or sections when the device isfolded and in order to retain the device in its folded condition a clamp16 is applied as shown in Figures 3 and 4 and securely but releasablyholdsthe sections in their folded positions.

It will thus be seen that this device serves very efficiently as acontainer and shield for a deck of cards not in use and also as a devicefor holding dealt hands when playing duplicate contract bridge andindicating the dealer and which hands, if any, are vulnerable as playersprogress from onetable to another. 7

From the foregoing description of the construction of my improved cardholder, the method of applying the same to use will be readilyunderstood. It will be seen that Ihave provided a simple, inexpensiveand efficient means for carrying out theobjects of the invention andwhile I have particularly described the elements best adapted to performthe functions set forth, it is obvious that various changes in form,proportion and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to,without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles'of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

A card holder for duplicate contract bridge comprising a center leaf,side and end leaves having means for retaining dealt hands of cardsstacked thereon, and hinges connecting the side and end leaves with thecenter leaf, said hinges being of progressively increased length wherebythe side and end leaves may be swung inwardly to a folded position anddisposed over the center leaf one above another with the cards instacked formation between the leaves with the dealt hands separated bythe leaves, edge portions of certain of the leaves being notched andforming seats to receive portions of the hinges and dispose outer facesof the hinges flush with edges of the folded leaves and prevent slidingmovement of the leaves relative to each other when folded.

HERMAN SIMMONDS, JR.

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